SCARLET on a RONIN DJI RS-2 GIMBAL/STABILIZER

[Alex Lubensky]

Okay, after some sort of messing with the gimbal I've decided to pick some more parts and the usage did become much more comfortable.

First - the offset rosette bar from tilta is a must for such setup. I'm going to pick up another one for the right handle. It lets you to rise the handles on the cam level.

Second - I've bought the Smallrig Rear Handle. It has some cool stuff I needed - two 1/4 threads on the side so I can put a nato rail attachment and leave the right lower handle on it's place. Second it has an arri locating pin thread on it's end so I can put a monitor bracket there. Now I can leave there a TV-Logic 058W, or screw on the native phone attachment and use a phone.

Third - I've bought the battery handle plate to put the V-Mount there. Ideally it's better on the front side, but this way it obscures the chraging port of the battery and I've desided to leave it on the side.

Right now I can work in upright position using the Tilta Nucleus M handles, I can work in briefcase mode and the monitor is in a comfortable position.

What to be aware of is when in briefcase mode you have to tighten all the locks on the gimbal. They slip really easily with this weight. Also the Auto Tune does a bad job for a briefcase mode, it usually sets the tilt to 94, roll to 55 and pan to 60. I've found that it's actually better to leave the tilt to around 75, roll to 60 and pan to 80 - in briefcase mode the pan motor gets the most stress.

I think i will leave it this way until the ring arrives.

 

[Alex Lubensky]

Some test footage. You can notice some vibrations coming from PAN motor in briefcase mode. The footage was stabilised using default settings in similarity mode in resolve - reducing the pan motor shake almost completely.

Gimbal was set to PTF mode, held by the top smallrig handle.

I was getting random shakes from time to time when holding the gimbal horizontally, I have figured out they where coming mostly due to the PAN motor trying to hold it's position and having not enough power.

As I was controlling focus myself using the Tilta handles, I'm going to try next replacing the Nucleus M motors to a Nano motor, and leaving the zoom without a motor at all. This will reduce the weight by around 500 gramms, maybe it will fix the issue with PAN motor shake.

 

[Rui Guerra]

Sorry for been "off" in the last days.
Was out working for a production. But now i have just a few days off before I go back.

Great posts meanwhile and very good photos. Inspiring ideas and interesting configurations. Thank you all!

Since DSMC2 have the power connection at the lower right corner, I guess its not easy to find a power cable that will not interfere with the RS2 movement. So I'm on again trying to spot a good 90 degrees 1B 6-pin Lemo cable and a good V-mount option. Any help on this will be welcome.
As a last resort if I find a good DIY tutorial on how to build such thing myself to have the lowest back protruding cable possible, it could be an option.

Since my PagLink batteries do not have any kind of power output connection I need a V-lock plate that can provide electrical power output.

 

[Benjamin Cabral]

I just sent a email to smallrig to ask if they can build a lower plate with the mount placed 3cm to the right since DSMC1 cameras has more weight at the left (looking the camera from the back).

 

[Alex Lubensky]

Haven't been posting in a while - had a lot of gigs recently so no free time.

Wanted to update on the RS2 and DSMC1 - I have bought the basic ring grip from Tilta and bought the smart handles separately - directly from Tilta official store on aliexpress. They have arrived in two weeks to Ukraine, so I highly recomment buying directly from Tilta Ali store if you're in a rush for a ring grip.

During the autumn I have rented the Advanced Ring Grip several times and can tell that the mounting mechanism problem is an issue with some ring grips from Tilta (you can read more on the subject in their user group on Facebook). The one I've used was so wobbly that it totally destroyed the footage. The other one was fine though. The Basic Ring that I've bought is OK also, but we'll see if it's going to wobble over time.

Overall my experience with RS2 is somewhat a mixed bag. It's def. an ok solution in some cases - like if you're on a good floor and have not a big amount of walking (calm approach to a subject etc) - the footage that you can get out of it should be just fine. But if you're looking into a situation where you'll be running on an outdoor terrain - don't expect the footage to be smooth at all. It does seem that a 4kg setup is too heavy for it, while they state that it's good for 4,5 kg even.

Speaking of the Tilta Ring Grip - I've bought the mounts for the monitor and the v-lock. The screws on those pieces that connect them to the ring are so flimsy, that you can easily damage them even out of the box, so be careful - really easy to be damaged on first assembly (DO NOT OVERTIGHTEN!). Def. worth building up one and never disassemble. NOT A RENTAL FRIENDLY THING. But for an owner-op it's ok and will do the job. Ring Grip is so much more comfortable to work with that I highly recommend buying one, even a Basic Ring will do the job better than any handles on the market. The footage with a ring grip is also more stable compared to the footage with grips that connect to the Nato mounts on the RS2 itself - I've tried several grips and can say that it just doesn't work for heavier cams - the mounting points are wobbly and with an already wobbly gimbal it's useless.

I like the gimbal total weight though. My whole setup with everything needed to work weights only 9.5kg total - while that's the actual weight of an R2 with same accessories WITHOUT a camera at all. Wish the RS2 had a better locking mechanism to the ring (or at least user-adjustable knob, so you can tighten it), and a proper cage aroung the camera. Maybe I'll print one myself some time in the future and see if it helps with stability. It does seem that the gimbal itself has a lot of wobble due to one-sided design.

Some pics:

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